The "Sick" Day

I had never been so excited for this day to come. All the hard work of making this day happen has finally arrived and I couldn't sit still. Every nerve in my body is like a live wire ready to ignite.

Today, I am going to co-produce an interview with my newest author addiction. New York Times bestselling author Marcy Fay! Her latest book, Secrets of the Dark, is probably the freakiest, complete mind-fuck of a story and I loved every word of it. Rumors have been swirling that it will be made into a movie. God, I hope so. Please feed my obsession.

The interview was a shock to land. After I finished the book, I needed answers, an explanation, something to hold me over. So, I took a chance and emailed the publishing company. I never expected to hear anything back from the them, let alone schedule an interview. Ms. Fay is quite reclusive.

I wasn't the only one with a healthy obsession of this book. My co-worker, Stephanie – or Steph, is also a book worm and when she overheard me talking about the latest watercooler thriller, she demanded we have a mini book club session, right at that moment. It was fun to bounce theories and different outcomes with her. Once the interview was booked, I asked Stephanie if she would like to tag along and be the interviewer. She hugged me for a solid seven seconds. We're besties now.

I stroll to my desk and glance around the newsroom. It's past nine o'clock so the post show meeting must have started. AJ is hard at work, researching – stalking – on Facebook.

"Morning," he mumbles. "How was the commute?"

I shrug, "Pretty typical. Standing room only. Meeting started?"

"Yea, about five minutes ago. Nothing exciting happened this morning."

"Oh good," I smile because I'm not sure if this is sarcasm or very well something gossip-worthy did indeed happen.

Nyah walks around the corner to my desk. She looks dazed. "Hey girl."

"What's up? How was the morning?" I start to unpack my bookbag.

She looks up, takes a deep breath, and sighs. "Just one more day, right?"

I smirk, "For you, yes. Not me. What happened?"

"Tell you about it later. Bathroom date?" She taps my shoulder. "Hey, isn't today the big day?" Nyah reads but she's more of a romantic, Hallmark Channel-endings type of gal. She doesn't understand the heart pounding moments of when a serial killer is chasing you around a wooded area. Or, maybe she does in a weird foreplay kind of kinky way with the material she reads.

"It is! I can't wait for Steph and I to dig inside the mind of Marcy Fay. How does a woman that looks so sweet write such evil stuff?"

Nyah lifts her brow, "Crazy people? She has a hidden desire to go on a killing spree. Or an active imagination. Isn't this your first producing role?"

"I'll go with the last one and yes. My nerves were at about a five, now they just shot up to a ten," I finish unpacking and start up my computer. Nyah walks back to her desk, which is connected to Stephanie's. My eyes follow and notice something odd about Steph's desk. No coat, no purse or computer screen lit up. Hmmm. "Hey Nyah, have you seen Steph?"

AJ puts his hand by his mouth and coughs loudly. I scrunch my brows and cock my head like a curious puppy. He never looks up at me and goes back to whatever poor soul he's digging around about.

Nyah looks back at me, then over to Steph's desk. She shakes her head. "Maybe she's in the meeting? Could've been running late and just went directly there? Wanna come see?"